A few classes ago, Dr. Strangelove pointed out a flaw in the “Enlightenment project:” it has emphasized gaining knowledge, without much else. Dr. Strangelove said that simply knowing is not enough to change things. He gave the example of his study of advertising, which he said he had been studying closely for over a decade. He said that he understood that the entire system was designed solely to manufacture desire. Yet, this knowledge did not make him immune to the effects of advertising. He admitted to being affected by the relentless grab of advertising just as much as anyone else.
This sounds similar to a psychiatrist who becomes depressed. Despite having a good understanding of what is happening and knowing some of the causes, some psychiatrists still become depressed. Knowing isn’t enough. When you know about something like advertising or depression, you aren’t let off the hook. You still have to address the issue.
In both situations, knowing and not knowing, one will still face the problem at hand. Is it better to know that you will have to deal with something and then also have to deal with it – that’s two things weighing on you – or is it better to merely face something as it comes without an understanding of it?
The easy conclusion to come to here is that ignorance is bliss, that knowing is not a good thing. Not knowing gives you immunity in a way, because you aren’t aware that you are being affected. Everything is still normal to you. Here is a Calvin and Hobbes strip that presents this point of view:
Is ignorance bliss?
Bill Watterson, the creator of Calvin and Hobbes, wasn’t really endorsing this philosophy. The Watterson style of thinking is made clear in a commencement address he made to the Kenyon College graduating class of 1990. The cartoonist had graduated from Kenyon in 1980 with a degree in political science. In the speech he described his first real job after graduation:
I designed car ads and grocery ads in the windowless basement of a convenience store, and I hated every single minute of the 4-1/2 million minutes I worked there. My fellow prisoners at work were basically concerned about how to punch the time clock at the perfect second where they would earn another 20 cents without doing any work for it.”
Watterson continued by saying that
after a few months at this job, I was so starved for some life of the mind that, during my lunch break, I used to read those poli sci books that I’d somehow never quite finished when I was here. Some of those books were actually kind of interesting. It was a rude shock to see just how empty and robotic life can be when you don’t care about what you’re doing, and the only reason you’re there is to pay the bills.”
Watterson’s reflection suggests that there is something in most humans that wants to know. This instinct is probably not enough, as Dr. Strangelove said. However, it is a step in a positive direction, a step toward something better.
